This puzzle:

Curious! PB has 201 puzzles in the NYT Shortz era now, but this is just his fourth Wednesday. He takes phrases synonymous with 'in ... read more

Curious! PB has 201 puzzles in the NYT Shortz era now, but this is just his fourth Wednesday. He takes phrases synonymous with "in jail" and gives them amusingly apt interpretations on "crimes" that led the person to jail. Merely going to yoga class, you got arrested and are now DOING A STRETCH? Funny! I had heard variants of the UP THE RIVER one before, but serving beer -> BEHIND BARS and buying a McMansion -> IN THE BIG HOUSE gave me smiles.

Some good clues in this one, a trademark of PB puzzles. When it comes to generating amusing clue/answer combos providing strong a-ha moments, he might be the best constructor out there.

[Person who picks his work?] is a MINER. You can pick your friends, you can pick your nose, and of course you can pick your work if you have a pick-axe.

I was baffled by [Savior of lost souls, for short?]. GPS indeed rescues we poor souls continually getting lost. (At least, those of us not so cheap that we eschew GPS for good ol' paper maps. Ahem.)

I found it inelegant to have SHIV in the grid. Some might see it as a bonus answer, but randomly placed answers which relate to a theme feel like they detract from the final product.

I also got a somewhat old-timey feeling in this one, pretty surprising for a PB grid. I'm fine with OLEO and EPEE — sometime you just need a dab of glue to hold a grid together — but getting ASTA, OSSIE, LAHR, Tommy AGEE of the Miracle Mets, and old CBS News chief FRED Friendly seemed like a blast from generations ago. Huh. Perhaps this was intentional, throwing a bone to older solvers; counterbalancing some of the more modern themes we've recently seen.

Neat theme idea, but the grid perhaps not up to the (immensely elevated) PB bar.

Jim Horne notes:

Yes, only the 4th Wednesday for Mr. Berry. The only reason he has even one Monday and Tuesday is that he needed six consecutive days ... read more

Yes, only the 4th Wednesday for Mr. Berry. The only reason he has even one Monday and Tuesday is that he needed six consecutive days for his 2011 "Cross" word meta challenge. If you somehow missed this terrific puzzle set, try them.